The US has requested a delay in a UN Security Council session on Gaza aid deliveries to allow for talks with Egypt. Meanwhile, the Hamas government says the death toll in Gaza has reached 20,000.
The United Nations Security Council vote on opening up humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip has been delayed for the third day in a row.
On Wednesday, the US' Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, requested the postponement to allow for US talks with Egypt, which borders the Gaza Strip.
"The Security Council has agreed to continue negotiations today to allow for additional time for diplomacy. And the presidency will reschedule the adoption for tomorrow [Thursday] morning," said Ecuador's Ambassador to the UN, Jose Javier De La Gasca Lopez-Dominguez. Ecuador currently holds the council's rotating presidency.
An afternoon Security Council session discussing Afghanistan, the second half of which was formerly scheduled by the UN to discuss Gaza and other Middle East issues, concluded having only discussed Afghanistan.
The resolution, led by the United Arab Emirates, is likely to call for some kind of reduction in the scale of fighting in Gaza and for more aid deliveries.
Its precise wording has been hotly disputed as the UAE seeks a formulation that's likely to meet approval from all five veto-wielding permanent members of the Council. The United States, one such member, has vetoed two resolutions on the conflict since October 7.
Also on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was working "intensely" with partners on reaching an agreement on the exact wording for a resolution.
Source: Dw
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